Sausage in the Catalan Kitchen

Many Catalan sausages are fully cured and ready to eat, as a tapa with olives and a glass of cava. No appetizer could be simpler than a platter of thinly sliced salchichón de Vic and fuet, their rosy meat studded with tiny, glistening pearls of fat.

But other Catalan sausages, such as botifarra, require cooking. These plump, well-seasoned links contribute a robust flavor to many of the region’s dishes. The Catalan kitchen’s many improvisations on beans and sausage could alone fill a cookbook.
Escudella de pastor
A few of the less-familiar ways that you might find sausage used in restaurant and home kitchens:

Escudella i Carn d’Olla: A Christmas Day dish in Catalonia, this gargantuan, two-course meal-in-a-pot resembles the French pot-au-feu. First course is a rich chicken broth, followed by platters of chick peas, sausages, meatballs and vegetables that were cooked in the broth.

Cassola de Fideus Negres: Vermicelli-like pasta (fideus) cooked in fish stock with botifarra sausage, squid, squid ink and saffron—a variation of the popular arròs negre, or black rice.

Fideus a l’Estil de Lleida: More fideus, this time simmered with botifarra, bell pepper, tomato and chicken stock, then served with fried pork chops on top. A specialty of the Catalan capital of Lleida (Lérida in Castilian).

Paella Parellada: A specialty of Barcelona described in detail in Colman Andrews’ classic Catalan Cuisine, this elaborate paella includes chicken, sausage, fish and shellfish.

Faves a la Catalana: Dried fava beans simmered with onions, garlic, botifarra and blood sausage.

Now watch this recipe demonstration using a local sausage: Pinotxo’s Garbanzos con Butifarra Negra (Chick Peas with Blood Sausage) (Flash video, 4:37)

As you watch Chef Albert make the dish, note that he adds pine nuts and raisins. This duo is a Catalan signature. Typically, a Catalan cook will add pine nuts and raisins to sauteed Swiss chard or spinach. Here they add a touch of sweetness to the earthy garbanzos. And as you will see, Chef Albert may work in a bar that is almost a century old, but he completes his dish with a modern garnish.